'Porto won by an offside goal' - Malaga's Pellegrini

Porto won by an offside goal, says Malaga's Pellegrini

Feb 19, 2013 11:55:00 PM

Los Boquerones' boss has acknowledged the bad performance of his team, but also believes the Portuguese side only came out victorious because of a refereeing mistake

Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini has slammed the decision to give Porto a goal which he believed was offside, after the first-leg last-16 Champions League encounter in Portugal.

The Andalusian side suffered a 1-0 defeat at Porto on Tuesday, thanks to midfielder Moutinho finding the net in the 56th minute, but the Chilean tactician was adamant the goal should not have been counted.

"Porto didn't really hurt us and the goal was offside," the 59-year-old told reporters.

"I thought from the beginning that Moutinho was offside," he added.

Pellegrini then went on to criticise his men for putting up a lackluster performance, especially when going forward, but remained hopeful of turning the tie around in the second leg.

"We were not a good Malaga because Porto pressed us well. We didn't create much space. Playing a game this badly, we didn't create many chances. I hope that, at home, we can reverse the situation.

"We can turn the scoreboard at home if we can play as [we normally do]. We played badly going forward," he concluded.